


Strange Weather

by AceLucky



Category: Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Genre: Daydreaming, Depression, Emotional Manipulation, F/M, Falling In Love, First Kisses, Fluff, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Loneliness, Magic, Romance, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Tea Parties, Very English spelling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-09
Updated: 2015-11-09
Packaged: 2018-04-30 17:36:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5173130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceLucky/pseuds/AceLucky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alice leaves Underland and in doing so leaves the Hatter behind, who had so desperately wanted her to stay. With her gone and the red queen defeated a strange calm descends on the land but it still isn't quite right for the Hatter who withdraws from his friends. He finds himself literally quite close to the edge until Alice returns and makes a promise.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Strange Weather

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this 5 years ago after first seeing the 2010 adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, it was written for ff.net and I never got round to posting it on here. I've read through it today and done a little tidying up in terms of grammar/spelling and adding/removing bits I didn't think worked as they were. I'm still not entirely happy with it, I'm not really happy with how the Hatter essentially blackmails/exploits/forces Alice's hand, I don't think he intends to do it so I added a little more and genuinely thought they made the cutest couple and that she had feelings for him. But I'm not sure I like it as is so may change in in the future. It's a bit cheesy at the end too...   
> Trigger warning - as you've probably guessed from the tags and what I've said above, this fic contains the Hatter being somewhat suicidal and on the verge of taking his own life. Still not sure I like this but at the time it made sense to me.

Strange weather hung over Underland, casting ominous shadows on everything that lay beneath but somewhere in the heavens something was changing, the clouds started to lighten they had gotten rid of the heavy load they were carrying. A small beam of sunlight shone through.

“You could stay….” The Hatter said as he looked at Alice pleadingly.

Alice sighed deeply and looked up into his big, green eyes, their colour seemed to change getting deeper and full of sadness, Alice wished she could do what her heart told her but her head told her she had to be an adult.

“I will come back,” she said quietly.

The Hatter shook his head slightly, “You won’t remember us,” he said.

Alice looked around at those she’d come close to once again, the March Hare seemed lost in playing with his spoon and the White Queen smiled and nodded at her.   
“I will…I promise,” Alice said. 

The Hatter leaned in and whispered into her ear, “Fairfarren Alice.” 

As he started to lean back from her he couldn’t help but place his arms loosely around her and then pull her into a tight embrace, she returned the gesture and as she hugged him she let out a sigh. The Hatter let go of Alice all of a sudden and looked at the ground, a tear dropped onto Alice’s shoes.

“Hatter,” Alice said softly as she cupped his chin delicately with her small, pale hands.

He looked into her eyes and gave a slight smile, Alice pulled the vial of Jabborwock blood to her lips and drunk just a small amount so she had enough for the future. The Hatter suddenly leaned in and kissed her quickly on the lips, Alice was caught off guard but for a few moments she let him kiss her and moved her lips back to return the kiss. Behind them the Cheshire cat appeared a huge grin spread across his face; he then spun around in the air and rubbed his paws together.

Alice pulled back quickly almost hitting Chess, colour sprung to her cheeks and she shook her head in embarrassment, the Hatter smiled and tilted his hat slightly as he bowed and before Alice could say goodbye in return his smile was fading, the world she’d been accustomed to faded from life…she awoke again in London.

The Hatter readjusted his hat and then turned and started to walk away, the frivolities behind him continued, the noise getting louder, the hatter put as much space between them and him as he could, he needed time to compose himself, she was gone. 

Loss of those once loved and the sorrow that it brings to one and more importantly the self-pity that we indulge in is one of the greatest delights and desires even pain can be enjoyment, even depression can be pleasurable, the Hatter thought darkly. 

The sunset was unbearably slow; no matter how many times the hands on his pocket watch rotated the centre the sun never seemed to get any lower, he let out a long sigh and stretched his arms above his head. His mind spun with thoughts that had become woven together, the thoughts were if fantasies, of things that he wanted to be but couldn’t dwell on them not for too long, they would be the death of him. He let the lids of his eyes fall creating a barrier between him and the world and took in a deep breath, he could hear the sound of insects like crickets beneath him too far off in the distance. A bread and butterfly flew round his head its wings beating effortlessly like a machine, the insect had more important things to do the hatter appreciated company of any creature usually but today used his hand to tap it away. He removed his hat and placed it beside him on the rugged bench and ruffled his bright orange hair so it was even more messy than usual.

A small but confident voice interrupted his thoughts, “Hatter you’re late,” 

The Hatter opened his eyes and looked round to see where the voice was coming from, then on seeing no one looked down to the ground and saw the Dormouse looking at him, head cocked to the side. It started to rain great drops hitting the ground pummeling it and bouncing off leaves.

As the Hatter stood up he said, “Listen…to the rain.” 

And then he followed the dormouse although he obviously knew his way back but somehow the Dormouse didn’t quite trust him, he was unpredictable these days and often locked himself in his room surrounded by various teapots of all shapes and colours. He sat drinking tea out of a bottomless cup and wrote letters, all of them to Alice only he had no way of delivering them. His letters had become more like poetry as of recent. Everything in Underworld seemed better, seemed brighter, seemed well happier and more pleasant. The flowers and trees could grow freely, nothing was held back and stopped everything had returned to its natural state except for the Hatter. 

The Hatter walked through the branches of a cherry blossom tree as he walked several pink petals floated to the ground, the contrast spectacular, pink against the black sky. As he came through the trees he saw the others sat at the March Hare’s long table where they were drinking tea. He worried for a moment that he’d traveled back in time, since the demise of the Red Queen they hardly ever had tea parties these days.

“Spooooooon!” The March Hare shouted as he ran up to the Hatter and passed him a spoon.

“Thanks,” the Hatter said quietly and walked over to the table and took his usual place at the head of the table.

Chess appeared behind him and curled his long stripy tail around the hat and licked the side of the Hatter’s face then spun so he was lying in mid air upside down.  
“Turn that frown….” He started, “upside down.” 

The cat smiled at his old friend and could see that he was troubled but more than that he was ill, the Hatter was lovesick. 

“I should have gone with her, “he said.

“Ahhh yes but it wouldn’t have worked for a start I very much doubt you’d be able to get back to where it was she is from and besides you wouldn’t have fit in, you could have…embarrassed her,” Chess said as he sat down on the table.

“Embarrassed her?” 

“Contrary wise,” Tweedledum piped in. “I think it would have been a fine thing.”

Tweedledee nodded and even he realized it wasn’t the time to start an argument with his sibling so simply hit him round the head for no apartment reason.   
The Hatter picked up a half eaten biscuit and looked around the table of his friends, true he was grateful and Underland was a good place to live but there was still a hole that needed to be filled, there was still an empty seat at the table. 

After finishing his tea he pushed the chair back abruptly and left the table, “I just need some time alone.”

“That’ll make a change,” the Hare shouted as he threw a teacup at the Hatter’s head which only missed by an inch. 

*********************************

Later on that evening the hatter was laid on this back on his balcony staring up at the stars and wondering whether somewhere Alice was staring at the same stars and thinking about him, he crossed his arms over his chest and a tear rolled down his cheek cleaning the dirt on his face where he hadn’t washed in so long. The night had cleared up after the rain had gone, it was strange weather the sky had opened in one place letting a strange light through that should have been yellow like the sun but it was tainted blue, it had been strange weather that seemed to reflect the Hatter’s mood. 

There was a knock at his door which he ignored, they knocked again and then a small voice made an announcement, “There’s someone here to see you,” The White Queen said.   
The Hatter ignored the White Queen and turned to his side and brought his knees up to his chest like an embryo, his whole body was moved into a position that took up the least amount of space possible. He had started to rock slightly and cry he opened his eyes to see the waterfall over the other side of the valley and all he could see in its beauty was Alice, the night air was the colour of her eyes. He looked like a child who wished to go back into the womb away from harm, where it was safe and where nothing could harm him or pull at his heart strings.

“My heart bleeds…it hurts,” he cried. 

He covered his face with his hands and carried on talking to himself, “Sometimes I just want to crawl up inside you and die.” He put his hands on the marble floor and helped push himself up as he stood he walked to the rails of the balcony and held on tightly as he lifted himself over, his pale hands gripped fiercely and tightly at the bar so he wouldn’t fall but now standing on the other side so close to the open air and to freedom he wanted to let go. He didn’t need this safety net anymore, if he couldn’t be with her he couldn’t be.   
He was about to let go when he heard soft footsteps behind him and smelt a familiar smell of English roses and honeysuckle and then he heard a voice meek and comforting, a voice that sent a chill up his spine.

“Hatter…” Alice whispered.

The Hatter couldn’t talk it felt as if his throat had closed up in shock, he started to shake and felt a cold sweat come over him, what if he was delirious he didn’t want to turn around and see he’d imagined it and then slip to his death. But what if it was her. 

Slowly he turned his head round to the right and there bathed in moonlight was Alice wearing a pretty but plain light blue dress with flowers in her hair and giant blonde curls framing her delicate face. Her lips were soft pink and natural and her neck was surrounded by a diamond chain, she looked like a Queen. She held a gloved hand out to him and help pull him back to the other side. 

“Alice,” he whispered as a smile curved at the edge of his mouth.

“Yes Hatter I promised you I’d return and that I’d remember you, please don’t do this,” she said.

“Why?” As he looked down at the ground sadly thinking to himself that no one could ever love a mad Hatter.

“Because I need you,” she replied simply. “I need to have you; I need you to take me like I could never let another man do…”

The Hatter paused, time had lost its meaning so it seemed, and his breath on the air was barely noticeable despite it being so cold. Seeds from dandelions blew past Alice towards the direction of the Hatter, he saw one so small and insignificant but beautiful, for on the light breeze it could have been a fairy.

“Hatter?” Alice asked softly. 

She turned to see the others were watching her and politely shooed them away, she believed matters like this were to be kept in private and with them there she didn’t think it would help the delicate situation. 

He shut his eyes and let out a peaceful sigh, bringing his hand up just in time to clasp one of the dandelion seeds, he opened his eyes and hand in unison. 

“Yes, Alice you didn’t forget I see that now,” Hatter replied.

“Please come down,” Alice pleaded.

“But what if you leave again, what if I cannot ever have you forever.” Hatter said.

“Forever is a very long time...things change,” she said sadly.

“Exactly but I know my feelings for you never will and if yours do for me then I am forever doomed, a victim of the thing I once swore to never fall victim of.” He replied.

The Hatter was afraid...he always had been, it wasn’t a fear of falling in love but a fear of losing the one he fell in love with again. He felt that if he came back off the edge onto the balcony with Alice, to smell her sweet scent and to nuzzle into her hair, he would eventually be prolonging the inevitable.

“Good bye Alice...” he said as he put one foot forward.

Alice yelped so that it threw the Hatter off guard, he wobbled for a second and Alice had jumped forward so to catch him but he managed to grasp the rail tightly. He looked down onto the valley, nothing but loneliness within there lay. As he stopped, heart beating heavily and pounding against his rib cage he felt something brush up against him. He looked to his side and saw Alice; she looked straight ahead, with head held high and took in a deep breath

Alice didn’t say a word she just shut her eyes and breathed in deeply, her mind was full of thoughts and emotions, she knew she didn’t have long to make her decision. Eternity seemed like a very long time but on the other hand she didn’t feel like she belonged back in England, all her previously un-finished business was now done with and buried. 

“I’ll ask you once more Alice....Stay with me?” Hatter asked, he knew it wasn’t fair on her, it was ultimately selfish. But he needed to hear it even if just for now, they could worry about the future later. 

Alice paused then looked into the Hatter’s deep green eyes; she lifted her hand and stroked his chin.

“How could I say no?” she said as she leaned in to kiss him.

Their lips touched softly at first they were careful not to get too involved as they were still perched in a precarious position. As their lips parted the Hatter gave Alice his hand and helped her back over the other side and then joined her smiling happily. As his second boot reached the ground Alice giggled and twirled her hair, she knew then that she’d made the right decision.

“Come on,” the Hatter said with a cheeky grin on his face as he grabbed her hand. 

“Where are we going!” Alice laughed as they ran off through the doors and up the winding staircase.

It seemed to Alice that it was like a labyrinth running up various stairs and along corridors; she could have sworn some were upside down and that at times they were going round in circus.

“Does anything make sense in this place,” she muttered under her breath.

“Almost there,” the Hatter replied.

Suddenly Alice was flung into a dimly lit corridor she leant forward and held her knees tightly as she caught her breath and breathed deeply. As she looked up she could see roses scattered all over the floor and candles on ledges which was where the dim light was coming from. At the end of the corridor was a door shaped like a giant rabbit hole and it was lined with fairy lights and had small insects fluttering about around it. 

“Gosh,” Alice said as she stumbled forward.

The Hatter was just enjoying looking at the expression on her face, how happy she suddenly looked, he studied her intently. Alice walked forwards slowly in awe of what the Hatter had done for her.

“What if I’d said no,” she said.

“I knew you wouldn’t...” he replied, his expression changed, “If you’d said no, then I don’t know but I know I couldn’t have hurt you, so I guess. I guess I’d still of come back to you,” he sighed.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her through the corridor, at the end he stopped and waved his hand into the rabbit hole before bowing.

“After you my sweet, as long as it’s what you want.” he said.

Alice nodded, “I wouldn’t lie.”

She entered the rabbit hole and immediately appeared in an open-spaced bedroom, the hatter followed shortly after.

“This is where I want you...this is where I’ll take you,” he said.

She felt strong hands push against her body, his hot lips caressing hers and then his tongue gently and slowly entering her mouth. She let out a small moan and he continued to kiss her getting for passionate. They both wanted it and needed it. He pushed her up against a wall and started to move his hand up her milky thigh, higher and higher...  
“Wait...” Alice said.

She looked across the room to the bed; the Hatter picked her up and quickly walked over to the bed and placed her gently in the middle before climbing on top. He started to kiss her neck gently and she ran her hands down his back. It wasn’t long before their clothes were in a messy heap on the floor and in the moments that followed Alice knew she’d made the right decision to stay. 

Outside the room a sign had appeared floating in front of the rabbit hole; it said simply, “Do not disturb”.


End file.
